Be Healthy – Know Your Viral Load Campaign

Be Healthy - Know your viral load aims to:

• inform people living with HIV about the value of viral load tests;
• mobilise people to demand routine viral load testing; and
• urge governments to make sure the tests are routinely available, accessible, and affordable.

As part of the campaign, a short film was created about London Chuma from Kafue, Zambia and Doreen Nasaala, from Kampala, Uganda. Both are HIV positive, and their stories help demonstrate the impact of viral load testing. The campaign is encouraging organisations and individuals to organise screenings to raise awareness about the issue and mobilise people to take action. Click here to download the film.

The campaign has also produced a variety of materials to support advocacy efforts. These include a toolkit for activists "Activist Toolkit - Campaigning for Routine Viral Load Monitoring" [April 2016], developed by ITPC, as well as information leaflets for decision makers and health facilitators to help create awareness and motivate people to take action. A similar leaflet was published for people living with HIV to promote awareness of the value of viral load testing amongst people living with HIV. Click here to access these resources.

In October 2016, the campaign also organised a 'Be Healthy - Know Your Viral Load' online course for people living with HIV or people working in the field. It was designed to educate participants about why routine viral load testing is critical to health, and how they can mobilise communities to demand the test.

HIV/AIDS, Treatment

Although many governments have adopted the 2013 WHO Guidelines to routinely provide viral load tests, the reality for people with HIV in many African countries is quite different. The programme conducted two surveys which suggest that people living with HIV do not have access to these tests. The results have been published in the following reports:

• Global Policy, Local Disconnect: A Look into the Implementation of the 2013 HIV Treatment Guidelines [2014]
• Routine For You But Not For Me [2015] - this report suggests limited availability of routine viral load testing. It also showed low levels of awareness of the value of routine viral load tests amongst people living with HIV and service providers.